A California teacher has been arrested for a second time in connection with an inappropriate relationship she began with a 13-year-old student. Jaqueline Ma was first arrested on child sex abuse charges. She posted bail and has now been arrested on child pornography charges.
Allegations against Ma were raised by a parent who approached authorities after she began to suspect that her child and Ma were engaging in appropriate conduct.
Ma was charged and booked at Las Colinas Detention and Reentry Facility. Her charges include three counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 and three counts of oral copulation with a child under 14.
Her next court date will take place on March 14, 2023. Ma is currently free on bail.
Ma also faces additional charges that are all related to "possession of child pornography, sexual exploitation of a child, and 'preventing or dissuading a witness or victim.'"
Superintendent Leighangela Brady released a statement about Ma's arrests. She explained, "Today, our community learned that Jacqueline Ma, a teacher at Lincoln Acres Elementary School, was re-arrested by law enforcement as their continued investigation into allegations of inappropriate conduct with minors secured additional information to press felony charges. While this entire situation is indeed deeply troubling, we appreciate that law enforcement is dedicating resources to secure the facts and keeping our school district and community informed of their progress."
She continued, "I want to confirm to our school community that the employee is on leave and will not be returning to the campus. I am grateful to our entire school community for facing this situation with a shared commitment to do all that we can to maintain our children’s education without interruption."
Up until her arrest, Ma was a celebrated teacher who was even named one of five Teachers of the Year for 2022-2023. Ma was formerly a sixth grade teacher at Lincoln Acres Elementary School in National City, California.
Police have not released any information about when the abuse started or about the student whom Ma pursued. While many parents have told news outlets that Ma was a great teacher, a few have spoken out about behaviors of hers that seemed inappropriate.
Aileen Carillo, who had a brother in Ma's classroom, told the New York Post, "She would go to my brother’s games in Tijuana every weekend. She went to one of his birthday parties, everything."
Carillo added, "Honestly, I used to tell my mom, ‘Why is she always texting my brother?’ And she had contact, too, but the way she was always checking in with my brother, I thought it was nice at first, like she really cares, but I’ve had a lot of impactful teachers that didn’t have to be that close."
